Mumbai: Opposition says rampant corruption in drought mitigation, demands independent probe

Mounting an offensive against the government, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said that the Chief Minister’s flagship Jalyukt Shivar scheme for drought-proofing villages had witnessed major corruption.

“The government claims to have carried out 5.5 lakh works across 16,000 villages under the scheme in the last three years. It has spent Rs 8000 crore for this. But our information is that Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 4,800 crore have been lost to corruption,” said Vikhe-Patil.

Alleging that there had been corruption even at the state secretariat level and in the minister’s office in the scheme, Vikhe-Patil said, “If the government wants to show transparency, it must commission an independent third party inquiry in the case under the Commission of Inquiries Act (1952).” While the government has been patting its own back and painting the scheme as a major success, Vikhe-Patil alleged that “the scheme was contractor-driven and was meant to benefit workers of the ruling party and select contractors.”

He further alleged to have information that several district guardian ministers had accepted up to 2 per cent commission to keep corruption cases revealed in the scheme’s works under wraps. He also claimed to have papers claiming that in one cases belonging to Saswad in Pune, Minister of State (Water Resources) Vijay Shivtare had written an official note on the file seeking a stop to an ongoing investigation into allegation of irregularities in the works in the belt. Shivtare is expected to reply to the allegation when the government replies to the queries raised during the two-day discussion on Thursday.

While the government has been making “false” claims that the water levels have risen on account of works undertaken under the scheme, state’s own Groundwater Survey and Development Agency has reported a steep decline in water levels across Maharashtra, he said.

In a direct offensive, Vikhe-Patil further alleged that there being a ‘commission’ racket ongoing in both the Water Conservation department and the Water Resources Department in Mantralaya for sanctioning works.

NCP’s Jayant Patil also targetted the government over alleged irregularities in the Jalyukt Shivar scheme. “The government should commission a satellite mapping survey of the works and the wells dugs under the scheme. This will reveal how the government has been making exaggerated claims.” He also claimed that the Centre’s decision to revise drought declaration norms in 2016 had hit the state, while blaming the state government for delayed declaration of drought.